We left Kentucky on Saturday with a bit of sadness mixed with excitement to be on the road again. It's over a year since we've made a major road trip so there were some kinks to work out but we've managed.
One of our first stops on Saturday was at a truck and RV wash place where we paid to have the RV and the car power washed. We even splurged for the special tire and hubcap treatment.
We made good time on Saturday and spent the night at a casino in Boonville, MO. Our Motor Home is fully self-contained. We have fresh water to last several days, a holding tank for used water and sewage and a generator for power so we can run the a/c and cook dinner, watch TV anywhere.
That is, if the generator is working. Turns out, ours is not. We found this out the hard way on a a particularly warm and windless night in the casino parking lot. In addition, we were on a very uneven spot but didn't want to use our leveling jacks, so we spent the night trying to sleep at a 30 degree (don't quote me on that, but you get the idea) angle. [P.S. for those of you who either visited Big Mike's House of Mystery in Mammoth Cave, KY or heard the stories---it reminded me of the girl saying "Am ah leanin' or standin'?"] We got the generator to run for a couple short periods and cooled things off. Chris didn't think he could sleep with his head lower than his feet, so we attempted to sleep upside down on the bed. He did okay, but it didn't work for me. But when I tried switching, I was afraid I'd end up kicking him in the face.
Soooo, not much sleep that night.
But, it's those adventures that we look back at and laugh.
Sunday we were on the road and again made good time and got to Sioux Falls, SD, about 900 miles from where we'd started the day before. We had planned to dry camp in Walmart parking lots or rest areas most of the way (which I seriously find so convenient and one of the reasons we have a MH rather than a fifth wheel. You pull in, find a level spot, flip a few switches and we're set up. No need to even go outside.) but w/o the generator, we needed electricity. We spent Sunday and Monday at a very nice campground called The Red Barn in Tea, SD, just a few miles south of Sioux Falls.
We loved everything about The Red Barn except....we had to drive on 1-2 miles of red dirt road (after a rain) to get there. So, less than 24 hours after paying for the fancy wash and tire treatment, the car and MH looked pretty grimy.
We got caught up on our sleep on Monday and then went to the HyVee grocery store. I'm going to do a whole post about how much I love the HyVee. They are mostly in MN, WI and IA. Sioux Falls is the westernmost location. We got some groceries and South Dakota State University Ice Cream (cookies and cream) and went home feeling like champs.
SDSU has its own creamery and if we'd driven an hour north to Brookings, SD we could have gone there and had ice cream at their shop, but we opted for buying at HyVee and it was delicious. So creamy.
Monday night there was a major storm. Lightning struck a tree near the campground office but fortunately no damage (except to the office's computers, phones and wifi for the entire campground). We debated staying another day due to lack of sleep but decided to get on the road and headed out about noon.
We made the drive across SD and landed at our "hometown" of Box Elder (near Rapid City) and camped at our mail service which also has a small campground.
Along the way, I made calls to get the generator fixed. I talked to several people who seem to agree that the problem is the fuel pump, but no one could get us in on our schedule, but we managed to get an appointment for a repair in Missoula, MT on Monday. Glad to get it done, not so excited about the unplanned expense and time away from visiting w/our friends in Missoula, but that is part of being on the road.
After we got set up at our campsite we decided to take a drive...and the car starter appears to have crapped out on us. So, now we're looking at a car repair and a MH repair. Sigh.
But, Wednesday morning Chris was able to get the car started and we are only a few miles from a Hyundai dealer. It can be discouraging (okay, downright discouraging) when these things happen and they seem to happen in multiples, but then I remind myself of all the places where the car could have decided not to start and we'd have been far from a place to get the work done.
We're now in the Mountain Time zone, which is great. We can watch the Late Show at 9:30 pm! Plus, when I naturally wake up, it's about 6:30 am and I feel like I'm really on top of things.
We expect the car will be repaired today and we'll head out tomorrow for more adventures. Tomorrow night we'll stop in Billings, MT. The temps are supposed to be ridiculously hot (near or over 100) so we are going to do something different and stay at a hotel w/a pool instead of trying to cool the MH in that sort of heat. We plan to leave early and get there before it gets too hot. I'm not sure if we've ever had Dooley in a hotel room, so that should be interesting.
Update...the car is done! We weren't expecting it until the end of the day. Stay tuned...
Eight hours later...we're back home. We picked up the car and then headed to Spearfish, SD to meet up with one of Chris's favorite people from his days driving tours to Washington, DC. As it happens, we're in the area during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. It's a big deal and there are lots of people in the area for it. We had planned to meet up with Chris's friend last night, but with the car out of commission, we had to cancel, so we were very pleased to be able to make that happen and to have lunch with him. After lunch and a couple errands, I'm pooped out.
We'll be up early to be on the road before the day gets too hot tomorrow.
Here are some pics from the journey. Those of you in Instagram have probably already seen them.
Highway Art |
A small shot of
the Badlands from the moving RV. If you've not seen the Badlands, it really ought to be on your bucket list. This photo is a tiny sample. There are other photos with more detail from in the archives from our visit in April of 2016.
